England Water Bill becomes law

The Water Bill has been granted royal assent, enabling English businesses to choose their water supplier and bringing competition to the £2bn market from April 2017.

The Water Act 2014 allows water users that consume more than five million litres a year to select their water supplier. The bill came out of the Water For Life white paper published by Defra in June 2011.

Currently, England’s water market is divided into regional monopolies, and the existing market structure allows little scope for customers to exert pressure on suppliers to tailor the services they provide.

The new law will allow a business with several sites across the country to switch to one supplier and benefit from economies of scale across billing and administration.

Business Stream chief executive Mark Powles said that the legislation will force water companies to improve their services towards customers or face losing market share.

"Competition delivers tangible benefits, and the market in Scotland can point to plenty of notable success stories," Powles added.

In April 2008, the non-domestic water market opened to competition in Scotland, which allowed customers to save approximately £36m from their water bills by reducing the volume of water they use. Approximately £30m of discounts have also been taken up by customers.